The Rotary District 6440 Newsletter is filled with announcements, articles and information about our clubs, our members and making a difference through Rotary.

Governor's Message

2014 arrived with a blanket of fluffy white snow and then challenged us with record-breaking cold. Some of our younger family members no doubt were pleased to have a slightly extended break from school, while the rest of us were more likely to have been occupied with rearranging work and service plans. The warm coats, hats, gloves and boots and the indoor recreation opportunities our clubs have provided through various service projects are especially appreciated in this season.

Our Sydney 2014 International Convention now is less than five months away, and some major deadlines are approaching fast. The deadline for lowest-rate Convention registration was extended for a month because of problems earlier with online registration but remains in effect only through January 15. On January 16 the per-person fee increases. Similarly, the deadline for reserving a room within the District 6440 room block at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in the center of Sydney is January 31. After that time, the company which coordinates housing for these Rotary conventions will dissolve our room block and release any rooms that have not been reserved already through a significant deposit.

We recently have added to the home page of our website link a wonderful video that highlights our Youth Service area of focus and indicates how our new generations programs today will produce the next generation of Rotarians tomorrow. The video also distinguishes some features of Interact, Rotaract, Youth Exchange and RYLA. It's the first entry under "Dist. 6440 News", in the center of the page.

Although we do not yet know the final number of miles earned from United Airlines, we know the number will be substantial. We came in a close second to Shriners Hospital for Children and no doubt will have earned several million miles. My thanks go to each of you who voted every day and who did so on several devices and through several browsers.

DGE Ellen Young is heading off to San Diego for the last piece of her required training to become District Governor for 2014-2015. We wish her an inspiring week and look forward to her sharing with us later some of her excitement and plans.

Stay warm and continue to enjoy service and fellowship with your Rotary family.

Governor Sarah

Water Projects Have Ripple Effect

Here's a good video (in both English and Spanish) about water projects and their effects -- freeing time for education and long-term operation because of community involvement. To see the video in English click here, and for Spanish, here.

News About Sydney Convention, and Extended Deadline January 15

There have been some problems registering for the Convention online. Therefore, RI has extended the "early bird" registration price of $315 until JANUARY 15th. Instructions on how to register are in the newsletter to be seen by clicking here. It's a fun, short, 2-page letter; you may want to take a look even if you aren't registering.

Contact our District On-to-Sydney Chair, Stan Sherman, 847-736-6513, for assistance in registering or for info on our Zone party, "Saturday Night Live in Sydney". There's also help via the newsletter.

Unique Australian football pits two teams of 18 players each on an oval nearly three times the size of a soccer field. Their sole aim is to get possession of the football and kick it through one of three sets of goal posts at each end.

Idea -- Example of Timely, interesting use of District Grant grant money, good local service, and good groundwork for PR.

Arlington Heights Sunset Rotary has service project with the Wheeling Township Food Pantry -- A Grant Project Refrigerator. A member of the club said, "we will be taking the official photos of the refrigerator our club purchased as part of the Rotary District 6440 grant on 1/8 at the Wheeling Township Food Pantry...We'll be adding our Rotary decals to the refrigerator, stocking it with the perishable foods for the photo ops, and then moving on to our regular work coding the non-perishable food items and stocking the shelves.

"Julie Villareal who manages the Pantry will join us for the photo ops. ...When we first started this service project, she worked with us, but now she trusts our club to carry on without her since we've all become experts at what to do in the pantry...."

Idea -- Interact in Action: Good work, Good Public Relations, and Good for the Long-Term Health of Rotary

The following is the official link of the video of the Maine East Rotary Interact Club delivering the toys to the WGN Bradley Center. Click on it or paste:

Your Club can Apply for "Excellence in Literacy" Annual Award, & Share with Others

Plan now to share your successful literacy project with other District 6440 clubs. Fill out and submit the short application for the "Excellence in Literacy" award by March 3, 2014. For information, click here. All submitted projects will be shared with other clubs for ideas and suggested literacy projects. Share your success with other Rotary clubs.

An award is given to a small club (30and under) and a large club (31 and over) each April. The Literacy Committee looks for projects that are innovative and can be replicated by other clubs; guidelines are included with the application. All applicants' projects are listed in an annual summary of projects listed on the Literacy web page.

Short List...of Short, Noteworthy Things:

January is Rotary Awareness Month -- Our organization involves 34,000 Rotary clubs across the world, working together in service and sharing ideals of Rotary with thousands of additional family members in Rotaract, Rotary Interact, Rotary Youth Exchange, RYLA and Rotary Community Corps.

New Dates for April Rotary Youth Leadership (RYLA) Session --The April RYLA session at Camp Edwards now will take place April 17-20, later in the month than announced originally. Website information and brochures have been updated to reflect this change.

Conference on Rotary in Russia -- Currently there are 53 Rotary clubs in Western Russia (District 2220) and 27 Rotary clubs in Eastern Russia (District 2225). The Russian Rotary clubs are small in numbers of members, but many of them are enthusiastic about Rotary and want to develop relationships with Rotary clubs in the United States. To find out more about how we can get involved, click here. To register for the Intercountry Committee meeting in Houston, March 1, 2014, click here.

We Welcome New Members to The Best Service Organization in the World !

Club

First Name

Last Name

Schaumburg A.M.

Brendan

Connolly

McHenry

Michael

Ossler

This Holiday Season has kept many of us extra busy -- we're glad you made the time, Brendan and Michael, to join in Rotary's service. It makes for a great New Year's resolution !